No verdict yet in the murder trial of Anthony L. Moore

Jurors deliberate the fate of Anthony Moore, who is charged with killing a woman in the midst of an alleged home invasion after she pulled off his mask and recognized him.Republican file photo

SPRINGFIELD - Jurors in the murder trial of Anthony Moore failed to a return a verdict by noon on Thursday, approximately five hours into their deliberations after nine days of testimony in Hampden Superior Court.

Moore, 22, of Springfield, is accused of fatally shooting Margaret Przewozniak after allegedly robbing her of a safe full of cash in 2010 at her Benton Street apartment. Assistant District Attorney James C. Orenstein argued to jurors during closing statements that Przewozniak recognized Moore during the robbery, potentially her fatal mistake.

Defense lawyer Alexander Z. Nappan contended that the case is one of mistaken identity and his client was railroaded through shoddy police work and witnesses who tailored their testimony after police presented Moore as a suspect in the hours after the shooting.

Przewozniak, 26, was shot in the leg and head. Her roommate and roommate's child also were in the apartment at the time of the alleged robbery. They escaped uninjured.

Moore is charged with more than a dozen criminal counts and faces life in prison if convicted of first-degree murder.